Eleanor Pratt

Eleanor is a PhD student studying genomic adaptations in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops sp.) in the Cetacean Ecology, Behaviour and Evolution Laboratory (CEBEL) and the Molecular Ecology Laboratory (MELFU) at Flinders University. Eleanor completed her Bachelor of Science (Marine Biology) at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland in 2014, and returned to South Australia in 2015 to do her honours at Flinders University where she investigated the genetic population structure of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops cf. australis) in southern Australia. Her PhD project will expand on this work using next-generation genomic sequencing techniques to understand and describe the complex patterns of adaptation and genetic structure shown by bottlenose dolphin populations worldwide. To better understand the evolutionary adaptation of bottlenose dolphins to their different habitats, Eleanor will compare the genomic structure of inshore and offshore bottlenose dolphin ecotypes, and then carry-out a seascape genomic study in coastal southern Australia, to investigate genetic population structure and its potential association to oceanographic/environmental features. Coming from a broad background in marine biology, she is passionate about research and the conservation of all marine ecosystems. Eleanor is a keen scuba diver, and has volunteered in the past for ReefHQ Aquarium in Townsville, and currently volunteers for the Adelaide Dolphin Sanctuary Action Group, helping with population surveys of the Port River dolphins.